Kitty Rhoades

Kitty Rhoades (born April 7, 1951) is a former Wisconsin State Assemblywoman who represented the 30th Assembly district. She is now the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Born in Hudson, Wisconsin, Rhoades received a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls and a master's degree from Illinois State University. Rhoades was an educator, small business owner, and consultant. In 1998, she was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Republican.[1]

In the 1990s, Rhoades proposed the term Winnesota to describe Wisconsin's St. Croix and Pierce Counties, which border Minnesota and are within the U.S. Census Bureau's Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Area. According to Rhoades, "I still call my area Winnesota. We are in Wisconsin, but it sure is hard to remember it."[2]

Rhoades retired from the state Assembly in 2010,[3] and took a position with the administration of Gov. Scott Walker in 2011 as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health Services.[4] Following the resignation of Dennis Smith, she was appointed Secretary. [5]

References

  1. Wisconsin Blue Book 2007-2008, Biographical Sketch of Kitty Rhoades, p. 39.
  2. Bill Glauber (February 18, 2006). "Welcome to Minnesota: Twin Cities workers find comforts of home in St. Croix, Wisconsin's fastest-growing county". The Milwaukee Journal. Archived from the original on 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
  3. Rhoades Retires From Wisconsin Assembly
  4. Andy Rathburn, "Gov. Walker appoints Kitty Rhoades to top Wisconsin health post". St. Paul Pioneer Press. February 22, 2013.

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